Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Version 0.7: 12/4/0. I'm most of the way through the game, and I've
finally seen most of the dragon forms with my own eyes. Still to be
added: Evolved forms of Behemoth, Myrmidion, and Mutant (Bandersnatch,
Knight, and Punk in the Japanese game, but I've little reason to
believe they'll use those names, since Jubjub and Jabberwock weren't
used for the evolved Wyvern and Serpent). Need the names,
descriptions, and approximate effects of the Sea and Sand dragon
summons. Need to replay the game to get the Wyvern's stats. Need to
find out why the heck Kaiser is still unconrollable. Redone: All spell
names and descriptions.
Version 0.75: 12/7/0. Just finished the game tonight, with a Clear Game
Save time of 51:05. I still have far to go on this guide, however,
since I only have 15,000 Game Points and three un-upgraded dragon
forms (the same three listed above). Added in stats for the Infini
Dragon.
Version 0.751: 12/7/0. While re-testing a few things I wrote about in the
above update, I found the last two Evocations. I also found that
Kaiser was now controllable (it apparently *was* the missing
Evocations that was keeping him berserk), so I included his stat
bonuses.
Version 1.0: 12/8/0. Played with the Sandflyer mini-game to see how the
scoring works, and got up to 36,368 Game Points in the process.
Got stats for the Knight, Mammoth, and Punk dragons (as well as
confirmed the names and move lists). Figured out exactly how the
to test various spells, dragon and otherwise, and playing with Game
points for Stardrop. Added a new section for such musings, and
confirmed a lot of little details throughout (like the Mjollnir
combo).
Version 1.5: 3/30/1. No, that's not a typo. I just realized I never sent in
the previous update :)
Version 1.5: 11/10/1. I thought I sent this in eight months ago. Moreover, a
few months ago I did some research into the amount of damage the
breath attacks cause, and was surprised by the result. I'll add
that to the next revision.
Version 1.5: 1/27/5. So I was wrong about that "next revision" stuff. Just
updated my e-mail address on this one.
-------------This information guide is copyright 2000 DarkStorm, currently wrassedragon
(at) yahoo (dot) com. Do not publish this commercially without my
permission (and I *will* want to be paid for it :). Do not put this FAQ on
your website without contacting me first. Basically, read it all you want,
save it to your hard drive, and enjoy it forever, but don't publish it or
post it to another web page without e-mailing me and asking my permission
(and I can't think of a reason I wouldn't give my permission). Simple,
neh?
Do make sure, however, that you are looking at the most recent version of this
guide, which should always be on my web stie and www.gamefaqs.com.
Breath of Fire and all related names are, of course, Capcom. The Pokemon
names that I've worked into the latest release are Nintendo / Game Freak /
Creatures. This is an informational work only.
Oh, yes, and I charge a lot of money for spam. If you see my address above,
and somehow think that gives you the right to send me e-mail about cable
descramblers or ways I can MAKE MORE MONEY IN THIRTY DAY$, then I think that
gives me the right to charge you $500 for processing your e-mail. $1000
if your spam contains HTML or Javascript. I believe you should have to
pay for putting advertisement in my Inbox, just as you'd have to pay to
buy ad space from a newspaper or magazine. (For the record, I define 'spam'
as any unsolicited commercial e-mail. If you want to ask me questions about
my FAQ or about BoF in general, that's not spam) ;)
------------TABLE OF CONTENTS
i. Dragon Forms
A. Overview
B. Ryuu's Dragon Forms
1. Aura
2. Wyvern
3. Behemoth
4. Myrmidion
5. Mutant
6. Kaiser
C. Fou-Lu's Dragon Forms
1. Astral
2. Serpent
3. Behemoth
4. Tyrant
D. Infini
ii. Dragon Evocation
iii. Miscelleny
A. Dragon Abilities Quick Reference List
B. Dragon Skills Quick Reference List
C. Breath of Fire 1 Comparison
D. Mini-Game Madness
E. Etymology (or, What The Heck Is A Peist?)
F. 'Sharking
------------i. Dragon Forms
A. Overview of the Breath of Fire IV Dragon System
For simplicity's sake, I'll just use Ryuu's name here. All of the
following information applies to Fou-Lu's dragon transformations as well
(unless specified otherwise). This text may contain minor spoilers (as
does any guide), but as few as possible, hopefully. I've avoided storyline
spoilers wherever possible (with the sole exception of "when or how you get
this dragon-form" spoilers). If you want to find all the dragons and what
they do for yourself, don't read this guide :)
The Dragons are handled somewhat differently this time around,
though it still most closely resembles BoF3's system. Unlike BoF3, however,
this isn't a complete transformation; Ryuu turns into a dragon-man
(resembling the Warrior Dragon from BoF3), who can then use "Dragon Magic".
This dragon-man looks the same for every dragon form, and Fou-Lu and Ryuu
look almost exactly the same in this form, except that Ryuu's claws, tail,
and wings are red, while Fou-Lu's are blue. Their dragon-form portraits
have similar subtle differences, but are otherwise identical.
However, when using a Breath attack (DragonBreath, Eraser, etc),
they transform into full dragon form for the attack, which is presented as
a polygonal cinema scene. Think of it as a variation on the way Kaiser
worked on BoF3, combined with the overblown - but fun to watch - summon
spells from Final Fantasy. (After viewing the full breath sequence once,
you have the option to skip the whole thing on future runs by pressing the X
button).
Also, like BoF3 Kaiser, Ryuu has full access to his Spell and Skill
lists in dragon-form. However, Ryuu has no spells this time around other
than Transformation and Evocation magic (and, of course, any Skills you
choose to give him). You don't have to worry that he'll be out of AP
becuase he used them all casting healing spells in human form. Fou-Lu does
not have Dragon Evocation spells, but he does share Ryuu's Skill list.
All dragon forms have separate HP, based on Ryuu's current maximum.
If a dragon "dies" in battle, it simply causes Ryuu to revert... but that
dragon form can't be used again until he rests at an inn or in camp, or
uses the item Ambrosia to restore all dragons to full HP. However, dragons
who have been injured in battle slowly regain HP out of battle as you walk
around (1 HP per dragon per step). Note, however, that normal healing spells
and items won't work on dragons. Ambrosia is the *only* item that can heal
the dragons, and it's extremely rare. (Plus it can only be used in combat,
and even then only by Ryuu himself).
The elemental dragons (including Mutant) upgrade (or 'evolve', as
the game refers to it) into a more powerful form at 10,000, 20,000, 35,000,
and 50,000 Game Points. The order they change is completely up to the player:
When you pass 10,000 Points, the next elemental dragon you pick will
automatically and permanently upgrade into its superior form. Same at each
plateau after that. Wyvern and Serpent are linked - if one evolves, so will
the other (so you can't "waste" an upgrade by using it on Serpent). The only
real differences between basic and upgraded forms are higher stats, a few
extra moves on their ability list, and the dragon in the Breath attack is a
slightly different color. Aura, Kaiser, Astral, and Tyrant cannot be upgraded
- Kaiser and Tyrant *are*, in a sense, the upgraded forms of Aura and Astral
(the game even describes them as such).
Note that the cost of transformation is related to Ryuu's level.
At level 50, for example, it'll cost him 50 (Aura), 75 (Wyvern, Weyr,
Behemoth, Mammoth, Myrmidon, Knight), 60 (Mutant, Punk), or 100 (Kaiser) AP
to transform. Like BoF3, Ryuu must expend AP each round to maintain dragon
form; unlike BoF3, this cost is 1/4 the transformation AP (rounded down),
not 1/2. Note that the AP cost of the upgraded dragons is the same as
their basic forms. Note also that Fou-Lu *starts* at level 64, so needs to
use a lot of AP right from the beginning to transform. One major
difference from BoF3, however, is that the Shaman's Ring *does* reduce the
AP cost of transformation and maintainance (to 3/4 of normal, round all
fractions down; there is no 1/2 AP reducer in this game that I'm aware of,
unfortunately), as well as the cost of the abilities. Shaman's Rings can
be purchased in the Faerie town's weapon shop (Lazy) for a whopping 40,000
Zenny each, plus there's one hidden in the final dungeon, or they are
occassionally dropped by StarGazers.
One other major change from BoF3: Becuase Skills are learned by
defending, rather than by Examining an opponent (in fact, selecting Guard
acts as if you were Examining all opponents *and* allies), Ryuu can teach
the other party members learnable Dragon Skills (the Strikes - including
Searing Sand and Chlorine - for example) simply by attacking the opponents
with them. Skills that can be learned from Ryuu's dragon forms will be
marked with a *. Note you can't directly learn any Skills from Fou-Lu's
dragon forms, since he has no companions to defend while he's attacking.
In this case, I've marked the ones that could have been learned, in case
you want to keep an eye out for them from other enemies.
For Dragon-magic (spells like Hwa and Bing, for example), I'll just
use the main name, not the (fire) annotation that the game uses.
Dragon-magic spells are generally similar to the normal versions of the
spells usable by all characters, with two exceptions: They cost
significantly fewer AP to cast (not including the cost to transform and
maintain the form, of course), and they each hit twice.
Finally, for the most part, the most useful thing to do with all
the dragon forms in most situations is just unleash their breath attack
every round. (This especially goes for Fou-Lu's scenarios). This is best
done at the end of a combo, which increases the number of hits you get out
of the breath attacks (most hit six times normally) They hit three extra
times if they're the second attack in a combo, and six extra times if they're
tacked onto the end of a combo. Note that nothing can combo *after* a Breath
attack except for another Breath attack (which is limited to Ershin's Primus
spell normally). For the upgraded dragons, their Level 3 elemental magic is
often useful, and the Ultimate Dragons (Kaiser and Tyrant) have the extremely
powerful Aura Smash, but all those attacks cost AP to use.
Note: Ability upgrades are for *base* stats, and don't include
equipped weapons and armor. (So to calculate, say, a 150% boost to
Attack, take the current Attack score, subtract the weapon power, multiply
by 150%, and add the weapon power back in).
B. Ryuu's Dragon Forms
I can't stress this enough: In the very first random-encounter
area, have Ryuu learn Rest from the Eye Goos. Unlike BoF3, BoF4's Rest is
extremely useful, restoring quite a few hit and magic points (when I first
learned it, it was restoring 50 HP and 5 AP, at level 46 it's restoring
about 200 hp and 20 AP - the exact amount it restores seems to be based on
Ryuu's Wisdom score, though I haven't figured out the exact formula). Combo
it after Snooze (which I have on Ershin), and you'll never be hurting for AP
for your dragon forms, no matter how high their cost goes. (As a side note,
Snooze + Rest + Vitalize is a 37-hit combo, if you're trying to rack up the
hits for one master or another)
Ryuu only learns Aura and Kaiser on his own. The others are gained by
picking up Dragon Crystals.
1. Aura
This is Ryuu's first dragon form. It's also his cheapest (but by no
means 'cheap') in terms of AP usage. The good news is that you get it very
early in the game, far earlier than the first dragons in the other games.
You get it very shortly after Fou-Lu gets his Astral Dragon transformation,
while still in Chapter I, subsection 1: Signs and Portents. The downside is
that you won't find any new dragon forms (except for the Berserk Kaiser)
until much later in the game, so get used to this one. You'll be using it
a lot. Plus, while you get the *form* at the start of Chapter I, you don't
get the DragonBreath attack until you get the Kaiser, either.
On the other hand, DragonBreath never ceases to be useful (once you
actually acquire it), and this form's relatively low cost means you can use
it in almost any situation where you're want to take out a group of
powerful opponents quickly. Note, however, that DragonBreath is the only one
of Ryuu's breath atacks that is affected by opponent's physical defense
scores. It's not really great at anything, but it's an improvement over Ryuu's
normal form. This is my favorite form. I use this a lot even at level 40, when
it costs 40 AP.
Transformation Cost: 1 AP/Level
Game description (before getting Kaiser): ????
Game description (after getting Kaiser): Basic dragon form. Normal property.
Dragon ability bonuses
Hit Points: 150%
Attack: 120%
Defense: 110%
Wisdom: 120%
DragonBreath (0 AP; Category: Breath. Six non-elemental hits for a grand
reduced by opponent's defense. Will be divided among multiple
opponents)
*Flame Strike (2 AP; Category: Melee/Fire. Physical Fire Attack)
Hwa (1 AP; Category: Fire. Lv 1 Fire Magic on one target)
Rejuvenate (9 AP; Category: Holy. Medium healing of one target)
Barrier (4 AP; Category: LV Up. Magical damage halved for 3 turns. Warning:
this also reduces the effects of healing spells and stat-boosting
spells by half while it's in effect)
Upgrade: none
2. Wyvern
The Fire Gem that gives Ryuu this form is found in the Mount Giga
area. It grants Ryuu fire-based powers, leaving him vulnerable to
water/ice powers, moreso than usual. It also provides a few
ability-boosting spells, but nothing other members of your party don't also
have. Let him go offensive, and let Cray boost people's stats if they need
it.
The second time through the game, I got this form just long enough to
check its stat bonuses, then upgraded it immediately.
Transformation Cost: 1.5 AP/Level
Game Description: Basic flame dragon form. Flame and assist magic.
Dragon ability bonuses
Hit Points: 150%
Attack: 120%
Defense: 120%
Wisdom: 130%
Gigaflame (0 AP; Category: Breath. Fire damage, multiple hits. Depends on
current HP)
*Flame Strike (2 AP; Category: Melee/Fire. Physical Fire Attack)
Hwa (1 AP; Category: Fire. Lv 1 Fire Magic on one target)
Jeh (2 AP; Category: Fire. Lv 2 Fire Magic on all targets)
Might (3 AP; Category: ST Up. Increases attack power of target by 20%)
Upgrade: Weyr
This is the one I actually got to use. It's fast and powerful, and
is currently my second choice for boss battles, after, of course, Kaiser.
Plus, Behemoth and Myrmidon are just ugly. :) Again, it's vulnerable to
water, but Ryuu can usually get an attack off with his enhanced agility
before the opponents can hit him.
The best uses for this form, other than breath attacks, are either
the Triple Inferno (Ershin's Inferno + Ursula's Inferno + Ryuu's Hwajeh, in
that order), or the Super Nova combo (Any earth + any fire + Ryuu's Hwajeh the fire attack turns into Eruption/Magma Blast/Ragnarok as usual, and Ryuu's
Hwajeh turns into Super Nova, which hits four times per enemy plus causes
confusion). (Note either of these combos will work with Kaiser, as well, since
it also has the Hwajeh spell).
Game Description: Evolved flame dragon form. Flame and assist magic.
Dragon ability bonuses
Hit Points: 200%
Attack: 180%
Defense: 170%
Agility: 150%
Wisdom: 200%
Gigaflame (0 AP; Category: Breath. Fire damage, multiple hits. Depends on
current HP)
*Flame Strike (2 AP; Category: Melee/Fire. Physical Fire Attack)
Hwa (1 AP; Category: Fire. Lv 1 Fire Magic on one target)
Jeh (2 AP; Category: Fire. Lv 2 Fire Magic on all targets)
Upgrade: Knight
Very, very nice. A Fire + Wind + Ahryu P'ung combo will cause the
wind spell to turn into Firewind/Simoon/Gigaflare (as usual), and Ahryu P'ung
into Earthshaker, which is pretty much identical to Super Nova (see the Weyr
form), except for its element, and that it inflicts Stun instead of Confusion.
(Note also that Ryuu is calling out the Japanese name for the move - either
Terror Break or Terra Break, I can't quite make out which). It's tied with
Weyr and Kaiser for the fastest of Ryuu's forms. Be sure to learn Shadowwalk
from this form, if you haven't learned it from somewhere else.
I still think it doesn't look anything like a dragon. :)
Game Description: Evolved wind dragon form. Superior attacks.
Dragon ability bonuses
Hit Points: 180%
Attack: 140%
Defense: 130%
Agility: 150%
Wisdom: 120%
MetaStrike (0 AP; Category: Breath. Wind damage, multiple hits. Ignores
opponent's defense)
*Wind Strike (2 AP; Category: Melee/Wind. Physical Wind Attack)
P'ung (1 AP; Category: Wind. Lv 1 Wind Magic on one target)
Nah P'ung (2 AP; Category: Wind. Lv 2 Wind Magic on all targets)
Ahryu P'ung (3 AP; Category: Wind. Lv 3 Wind Magic on all targets)
*Cleave (3 AP; Category: Melee. Physical attack against all opponents at
1/8 strength that ignores defense)
*Shadowwalk (12 AP; Category: Melee. A never-miss Critical Hit. Pretty much
identical to Scias's Shining Blade)
5. Mutant
Think BoF3's Pygmy. The full-dragon morph is small, cute, and not
all that powerful... except it also lowers enemies' stats to minimum, if it
works (and, unlike most other stat-lowering powers, this one works fairly
often). His other attacks all inflict status ailments. This is, actually,
a good form for doing indirect damage, while your other party members wail
on the weakened foes. It causes a severe *drop* in most of Ryuu's stats,
except for Wisdom. I've found it useful for reducing Cyclops' (and later
versions thereof) attack scores to uselessness while doing some damage in
the process.
The number of Game Points you have determines the 'Level' of
Stardrop. This level has nothing to do with the game points required to
evolve Mutant into the Punk. (So your Mutant can have up to Level 3 breath
if you evolve him last, or your Punk could have Level 2 if you evolve him
first - because Punk gets a +1 bonus to Stardrop's level in lieu of increased
HP). Basically, the higher the level, the more 'hits' you get out of the
Breath attack. It seems to be 6 hits at Level 1, plus 2 more hits for each
'level' of Stardrop. This breath never seems to do much damage, though, no
matter how many hits it gets, thanks to Ryuu's low Hit Points in this form,
but at Level 6 you get a full 16 hits out of it - the same as KaiserBreath!
Note that the Mutant's levels only go from 1-5, though.
The Flawed Gem can be found in the En Jhou ruins. When you get this
Crystal, the game will tell you you picked up the Earth Gem (again?), but
the Flawed Gem is what's added to your Key item list. Do not, repeat, DO
NOT give this to the man in Chiqua who wants it (or one of two other items)
in return for the information he's offering. If he takes it, you won't get
it back without restarting the game.
A warning: this form can also induce convulsive laughter in the
player and anyone watching the screen the first time this breath attack is
viewed. :)
Transformation Cost: 1.2 AP/Level
Game Description: Basic mutant dragon form. UNKNOWN
Dragon ability bonuses (and penalties)
Hit Points: 50%
Attack: 50%
Agility: 80%
Wisdom: 180%
Stardrop (0 AP; Category: Breath. Multiple hits. Damage depends on current
HP. May lower attack, defense, agility, and wisdom of targets to half
their normal values. The number of hits increases as Game Points go
up, increasing at 30000, 38000, 48000, 54000, and 62000 Game Points)
*Snap (2 AP; Category: Melee/ST Down. Physical attack that may reduce
defense by 20%)
*Chlorine (2 AP; Category: Melee/ST Change. Physical attack that may
poison target)
Sleep (3 AP;Category: ST Change. May put all opponents to sleep)
Silence (3 AP; Category: ST Change. Prevents spell-casting, but not
physical skills, for all opponents)
Upgrade: Punk
It's still too damn cute, and rather wimpy, but at least its stats
are a *little* better. (Agility doesn't drop, for example) Hit points are
still very low, but Wisdom is extremely high. If you have any magic-based
Skills on Ryuu (*including* Rest), this would be the form to use them in.
(Rest, like all healing spells, won't recover any HP for Ryuu's dragon-form,
but it will restore a lot of AP). Punk's Stardrop is also one level higher
than Mutant's would be with the same number of Game Points - the levels range
from 2 to 6.
Note also this form has the most abilities you can learn, as well. If
you haven't learned Curse before now, be sure to add it to your Skill lists.
It's actually, despite its drawbacks and humor value, a very useful form
against some enemies (again, the Cyclops and their clones come to mind, as
well as the T-Rex-like monsters you meet at the Emperor's Tomb onward)
The more I use this form, the more I like it. Don't underestimate
the little guy. It also uses the second-least AP of all of Ryuu's dragon
forms.
Game Description: Evolved mutant dragon form. UNKNOWN
Dragon ability bonuses (and penalties)
Hit Points: 50%
Attack: 50%
Wisdom: 250%
Stardrop (0 AP; Category: Breath. Multiple hits. Damage depends on current
HP. May lower attack, defense, agility, and wisdom of targets to half
their normal values. The number of hits increases as Game Points go
up, increasing at 30000, 38000, 48000, 54000, and 62000 Game Points)
*Snap (2 AP; Category: Melee/ST Down. Physical attack that may reduce
defense by 20%)
Upgrade: None
2. Serpent
This is, in effect, Fou-Lu's version of the Wyvern. It has ice
attacks instead of fire attacks, and it has attacks to reduce the
opponent's abilities, rather than attacks to increase the party's
abilities. (Ability reducers and status changers, however, don't work very
often in this game). The American version features the odd name
'Waterspout' for its breath weapon, which is clearly a giant spiked ball of
ice, as opposed to the Japanese name Hell-Blizzard (I thought it was typical
Nintendo censorship until I remembered that this is a Playstation game. Given
what I now know about the rest of the cuts in the game, it's apparently
Typical Capcom USA Censorship). It is, of course, vulnerable to fire attacks.
The Water Gem that grants this form is located in the Sanctum,
but you can't miss it anyway: it's blocking the Sanctum's exit. You'll have
to get it to continue (Fou-Lu's speech as you pick up the Crystal is probably
to point out its importance to you, so you know what to look for when you're
controlling Ryuu's party again. That didn't stop me from missing most of the
Crystals the first time through the game) :)
This is my second-favorite of Fou-Lu's forms.
Transformation Cost: 1.5 AP/Level
Game Description: Basic water dragon form. Water and assist magic.
Dragon ability bonuses
Hit Points: 150%
Attack: 160%
Agility: 150%
Waterspout (0 AP; Category: Breath. Water damage, multiple hits. Depends
on current HP)
*Frost Strike (2 AP; Category: Melee/Water. Physical Water Attack)
Bing (1 AP; Category: Water. Lv 1 Water Magic on one target)
Bing'ah (2 AP; Category: Water. Lv 2 Water Magic on one target)
*Snap (2 AP; Category: Melee/ST Down. Physical attack that reduces defense
by 20%)
Upgrade: Peist
I didn't get to use this one much (again, Fou-Lu's scenarios are so
short, and I didn't really have much time to use this form), but the one
boss I did use it on went down quickly under a barrage of Waterspouts. He
gains the ability to reduce the opponent's offense (again, though, such
attacks don't work too well), as well as the level 3 Water Dragon-magic spell.
Here's an oddity... Wind + Water + Pa Bing'ah combine to form Mjollnir
(not *quite* as badly misspelled as it was in BoF3), but since Ryuu can't cast
Pa Bing'ah with any of his dragon-forms, and Fou-Lu never has any allies to
cast Wind and Water spells to start the combo, this combination is *only*
possible via Gameshark.
I've finally tested this combo myself, by 'Sharking Pa Bing'ah
directly onto Ryuu's Skill list. Mjollnir, for the record, isn't as good as
Ryuu's dragon-combos. It only hits once per enemy, has no special effects,
and does *less* damage than Thunderstorm, about half as much.
Note that the Agility and Attack boosts for this form are higher than
those for any of Ryuu's forms, but Fou-Lu gets no Wisdom boost from this form.
Game Description: Evolved water dragon form. Water and assist magic.
Dragon ability bonuses
Hit Points: 200%
Attack: 210%
Defense: 110%
Agility: 180%
Waterspout (0 AP; Category: Breath. Water damage, multiple hits. Depends
on current HP)
*Frost Strike (2 AP; Category: Melee/Water. Physical Water Attack)
Bing (1 AP; Category: Water. Lv 1 Water Magic on one target)
Bing'ah (2 AP; Category: Water. Lv 2 Water Magic on one target)
Pa Bing'ah (3 AP; Category: Water. Lv 3 Water Magic on all targets)
*Snap (2 AP; Category: Melee/ST Down. Physical attack that reduces defense
by 20%)
*SwordBreaker (2 AP; Category: Melee/ST Down. Physical attack that reduces
attack by 20%)
3. Behemoth
This form is nearly identical to Ryuu's, and he gets it
does. I'll repeat the ability list here for completeness' sake.
also use Ryuu's Myrmidon/Knight and Mutant/Punk forms, but only
a Gameshark, so I won't include them).
Note that Fou-Lu's Behemoth form has slightly different
than Ryuu's, namely having slightly higher attack power.
when Ryuu
(Fou-Lu can
through use of
stat bonuses
C. Infini
*The* most powerful dragon in the game, bar none. For the sake of
avoiding spoilers, I'll leave out how to get it entirely, as well as who
gets it. It has Tyrant's breath attack, all three levels of all four
elemental dragon spells, and a unique ability, Soul Rend, that never
misses.
In appearance, Infini is just the Tyrant polygonal model, only a
different color. Also, its four 'wings' are twisted, and there's a
holographic 'peacock's tail' hovering behind it. Its Dark Wave attack is
identical to Tyrant's in terms of animation, only it shows Infini unleashing
the attack.
Updated notes: To clear up some confusion, as the set stats and
the sheer power of the spells may suggest, this is not a normal dragon form;
it's an "Event" dragon, usable during only one particular fight. I'm simply
not going to tell you which fight. :)
If you really want to know, and don't mind spoilers, e-mail me. Or
just read one of the full walkthrough FAQs. :)
Transformation cost: Spoiler!
Game description: Spoiler!
Dragon abilities:
Hit points: 9999
Ability points: 999
Attack: 646
Defense: 402
Agility: 286
Wisdom: 500
Dark Wave (0 AP; Category: Breath. Non-elemental damage, multiple hits.
Depends on current HP)
Soul Rend (13 AP; No category. Reduces all opponents to 1 hp. Never
misses. No fair) :)
Hwa (1 AP; Category: Fire. Lv 1 Fire Magic on one target)
Jeh (2 AP; Category: Fire. Lv 2 Fire Magic on all targets)
Hwajeh (3 AP; Category: Fire. Lv 3 Fire Magic on one target)
P'ung (1 AP; Category: Wind. Lv 1 Wind Magic on one target)
Nah P'ung (2 AP; Category: Wind. Lv 2 Wind Magic on all targets)
Ahryu P'ung (3 AP; Category: Wind. Lv 3 Wind Magic on all targets)
Bing (1 AP; Category: Water. Lv 1 Water Magic on one target)
Bing'ah (2 AP; Category: Water. Lv 2 Water Magic on one target)
Pa Bing'ah (3 AP; Category: Water. Lv 3 Water Magic on all targets)
Patoh (1 AP; Category: Earth. Lv 1 Earth Magic on all targets)
Chi Patoh (2 AP; Category: Earth. Lv 2 Earth Magic on one target)
Patoh Pah (3 AP; Category: Earth. Lv 3 Earth Magic on all targets)
ii. Dragon Evocation
The game's name for Summon spells. All of these cost 0 AP to cast,
but they can only be used once per rest at an inn. Resting in camp will not
recharge these spells. These are all Category: Breath, and the attack
summons hit multiple times like Ryuu's breath attacks. Like the breath
attacks for the dragon transformations, these will get more hits as part of a
combo. To acquire a dragon summon, you simply have to speak to the dragon's
human-form avatar.
You will automatically receive P'ung Ryong's summon, Rainstorm, as
part of the normal course of play. The rest you must find, but most of them
aren't difficult. These are listed in the approximate order you can receive
them.
I also have to say that the character designers have an odd idea
what constitutes a 'dragon' this time around. Sheesh.
Rainstorm: From P'ung Ryong, the Wind Dragon.
Where: Automatic. You get P'ung Ryong to help you at Sinchon near the
end of Chapter II. (This is the *only* Evocation or Transformation you get to
use before Chapter 3, not, of course, including Ryuu's Aura).
Description: The sky dragon (looks like an eel with fins and tusks
to me) swoops between the clouds, where lightning flashes, then rises above
them to where the opponents are waiting on a small piece of grassy land (FF7
Neo Bahamut, anyone?) A tear falls from the dragon's eye, which soon turns
into a rainstorm. Holy damage to all opponents, eight hits, based on *their*
HP, not yours. Even after multiple viewings, this is one of my favorites.
Healing Wind: From Cho Ryong, the Grass Dragon.
Where: The Golden Plains. Talk to Tarhn, who'll tell you how to find
her (it *is* female, isn't it? Its human avatar definitely looks female,
though Tarhn refers to it as "he" and "him"), then head into the Plain itself.
Head east to the big rock, then follow the glowing bird. You'll know the
bird I mean once you see it: it has a circular aura of light around it that
can be seen from quite a distance, and it's impossible to mistake for any of
the ordinary birds flying around. If you're not sure whether it's the right
bird, then it's not the right bird. It'll stop at Cho Ryong's location (you
should be able to see a transparent image of the dragon when you get close).
Description: I like the dragon design, but the summon itself has
questionable usefulness. A magic circle appears, in the middle of which Cho
Ryong appears and unfurls her wings. A small woodland glade springs up around
the party, and sparkles of light restore all living memebers of the party to
full HP and normal status. (This would be more useful if it wasn't limited to
one use). It's a good 'emergency' healing spell, though, but it doesn't bring
dead party members back to life. It's basically the spell version of the Moon
Tears item, or a really really powerful version of FaerieBreath.
Mud Flow: From Ni Ryong, the Mud Dragon.
Where: Really easy to find. Go into the ? area just north of the Dam,
where the Frog Lady sang you a song about dragons much earlier in the game. You
may need to rotate the camera a bit to see Ni Ryong (because he's really,
really small), but he's right there in front of you.
Description: The ground turns to mud, while a magic circle locks the
opponents in place. Ni Ryong, a semi-transparent earthworm-like creature with
huge anime eyes, bursts out of the muck (actually, the "mud" ground is nearly
indistinguishible from the "desert" ground for Sa Ryong's summon), and roars
once, while the ground begins to shift and move until a huge tidal wave (FF7
Leviathan, anyone?) of mud covers the opponents. Does water and earth-based
damage, twelve hits. (A movie file of this Evocation is at psx.ign.com).
Where: In the River area south of Chiqua, there's a man sitting near
the exit. Chat with him for a bit. Talk about dragons, tell him you've seen
them, that they can look like anything, and that they look like grass and
rocks, and he'll tell you about something weird in the Quarry nearby that may
have been a dragon. (You can also get this line of conversation by talking
about traveling, saying you come from over the sea, and saying you saw
dragons). You can also get a few items out of this - play with the responses
for them. (The only one I remember offhand is talk about traveling, tell him
you're from overseas, and tell him you're on the run from the Empire, and
you'll get a Power Food out of it) There aren't any 'wrong' answers; you can
always start the conversation over. When you get back to the world map, a
path to a ? area will have opened up, where the Nameless One awaits. This
will be the last summon you get in the game (assuming you got them all when
they were first available).
Description: It's a jellyfish, I tell you, a giant stone jellyfish. It
extends its - limbs? stone tentacles? whatever - and electricity arcs between
them, forming a huge gravity well which it shoots downwards at the targets,
who are immobilized on a magic circle. The ball then explodes as it hits the
ground. Does eight hits of gravity-elemental (what does that mean, exactly?)
damage based on the opponents' HP. Use this first, to soften up powerful
enemies. It will never deal the final blow, as it takes a small percentage
of the opponent's HP in damage. (I couldn't kill NutTroops with it towards the
end of the game, even).
iii. Miscelleny
A. Dragon Abilities Quick Reference List
Percentages are proportional to Ryuu/Fou-Lu's abilities in human
form (i.e., if Ryuu has 200 HP in human form, he'll have 200 x 1.5 = 300 as
Aura, 200 x 0.5 = 100 as Henner, etc. If Ryuu has a 200 Attack while wielding
a weapon with 50 power, then he'll have an Attack score of 150 x 1.2 + 50 =
230 as Aura). Note that the Infini dragon has set values for his stats and
HP.
Astral (Fou-Lu): 150% HP, 130% Atk, 110% Def, 120% Agi
Aura (Ryuu): 150% HP, 120% Atk, 110% Def, 120% Wis
Behemoth (Ryuu): 220% HP, 140% Atk, 140% Def, 50% Agi, 50% Wis
Behemoth (Fou-Lu): 220% HP, 150% Atk, 140% Def, 50% Agi, 50% Wis
Infini: 9999 HP, 999 AP, 646 Atk, 402 Def, 286 Agi, 500 Wis
Kaiser (Ryuu): 300% HP, 200% Atk, 150% Def, 150% Agi, 200% Wis
Knight (Ryuu): 180% HP, 140% Atk, 130% Def, 150% Agi, 120% Wis
Mammoth (Both): 350% HP, 160% Atk, 160% Def, 50% Agi, 50% Wis
Mutant (Ryuu): 50% HP, 50% Atk, 80% Agi, 180% Wis
Myrmidon (Ryuu): 150% HP, 120% Atk, 120% Def, 120% Agl
Peist (Fou-Lu): 200% HP, 210% Atk, 110% Def, 180% Agi
Punk (Ryuu): 50% HP, 50% Atk, 250% Wis
Serpent (Fou-Lu): 150% HP, 160% Atk, 150% Agi
Tyrant (Fou-Lu): 300% HP, 150% Atk, 120% Def, 150% Agi, 120% Wis
Weyr (Ryuu): 200% HP, 180% Atk, 170% Def, 150% Agi, 200% Wis
Wyvern (Ryuu): 150% HP, 120% Atk, 120% Def, 130% Wis
Best
Best
Best
Best
character's sister is integral to the premise of the game. (In both cases,
as well, it turns out to have nothing to do with the final showdown at the
end of the game)
(3) A minor feature: The behind-the-back-perspective separate-screen
battle sequences from BoF1 and 2 are back, and he fact your characters
actually run up and hit the enemies rather than stand in place and swing is
back from the original game.
(4) The conflict between the Light and Dark Dragons definitely takes center
stage, as it did in BoF1. I still don't know if Fou-Lu and Emperor Zog are
related, though I have my suspicions on how the Imperial Capital at Chedo
and the Imperial Capital at 'Scande' (American name; Japanese is just
'Imperial Capital') are related. In BoF2 and 3, the conflict between the
Light and Dark Dragons were non-existant (though you have to fight a Dark
Dragon in both games, it's not the point of the game).
(5) Ryuu's spell list. In BoF1, he had nothing but Dragon transformation
spells. In BoF2 he got a few minor healing spells, and in BoF3 he became
the best healer in the game (which was highly annoying, since I was saving
his AP for dragon transformations. And people wonder why I like Momo so
much). In BoF4, once again, his only spells are Meditation (i.e., Dragon
Transformation), and the Dragon Summons.
(6) The battle system. Breath of Fire 1 had all eight characters
participating in every battle, and everyone got experience from every
fight, whether they actually attacked or not. Switching in and out was a
bit more awkward (you could only switch one character per round), and you
couldn't switch out Ryuu in dragon-form (why would you want to?), but BoF4
brings back never having to decide who's coming with you and who's going to
get stuck never gaining a level. As a completely irrelevant side-note, why
did the 16-bit games have more characters in the party? BoF had eight,
BoF2 had nine, while BoF3 and 4 have only six (seven if you count Teepo or
Fou-Lu). Further, BoF and BoF2 allowed four characters in the active
party, while 3 and 4 allow only three.
(7) The Music. This is also a throwback to BoF2, but it was lacking in BoF3.
The battle music changes during the course of the game... albeit not the same
way as previous games. In BoF1 and 2, it changed permanently after certain
story points. In BoF4, there's one battle and boss theme for the Eastern
continent (including the 'Etc.' areas on the Shift menu), and another one for
the West (at the start of the game, Ryuu's party will have the Eastern music,
and Fou-Lu the Western). Incidentally, in the Faerie Music Shop, these tunes
are listed as By The Numbers and Bastard Sword for the Eastern battle and boss
music, and Fighters and Battling Gods for the Western. Bringing Home A Win and
Take The Money And Run are the two post-battle victory themes. I was rather
disappointed not to be able to listen to the battle and boss music in the Faerie
music shop in BoF3; I'm glad to see they rectified that here.
-----D. Mini-Game Madness
I'd like some help in completing this section, because I only know
of a few replayable mini-games. This is, of course, dragon-related becuase
you need a certain number of Game Points to upgrade your dragons. Your Fishing
Points, I have to note, are entirely separate from your Game Points, so you
can't go fishing in an attempt to upgrade those dragons :) Keep in mind
these points are for completing the mini-games the second and subsequent
times; you get far more points the first time you play them - *ten times*
as much, in fact (so try to get them right the first time. They're not as
pointless - no pun intended - as they appear).
Oh, and don't smack people with your sword for 'easy' money. You
*lose* Game Points for that. (Okay, only one Game Point per smack, but
still...). For that reason, try not to keep Ershin in front in towns.
When running, he does his headbutt automatically when hitting an obsticle
(such as other people).
1. Sandflyer Jumping: You get points for beating your high score when
traveling between any two points in your sandspeeder. More accurately,
your high score for each of the six courses are kept as part of your
Game Points. When you get a higher score, only the difference is added to
your Game Points.
The points themselves are gotten by doing trick jumps off the sand
dunes (and, of course, landing safely). Beating your record score is what's
important; your time is irrelevant for Game Points. I might be able to get
a few hundred thousand points right here. :)
Update: I've found that you can, indeed, get a lot of points here,
but not an unlimited number. There are six courses (between the three
points Kyoin, Shyde and the Shikk region - going in the opposite direction
counts as a different course for scorekeeping purposes), and you can get a
maximum of 4000 points on each one, for a grand total of 24,000 Game
Points. This alone will be enough to upgrade two of the four dragons.
Update #2, sort of: I've heard that it's possible to get 6,000 points
per course, but as yet I haven't managed it. If anyone knows how it's done,
let me know. (Though I suspect you get 1000 points for each complete
revolution you make while in the air after a jump).
Update #3, sort of: Supposedly, the number of points you get is
dependant on your tricks *and* your time. Do one good trick and complete the
track really quickly, and scores of over 10,000 are supposed to be possible.
Though I have to warn you: I haven't managed this myself. If anyone wants
to confirm this for themselves, go right ahead; but the time may be better
spent chasing pigsheep into a pen. :)
2. Move Them Boxes: At the Wharf, you can try to get those ten crates on
the ship again in three minutes. On replays, this scores 10 points per box
placed, or 20 points per box placed in the light blue square. That's 200
points total, if you place all ten boxes in the blue squares, plus a time
bonus if you complete it with 30 or more seconds on the clock. I've never
gotten more than 380 points out of this, but it's quick and easy, if rather
tedious.
Note that you can't replay the barrel-moving game at the Wharf.
3. Catching The Sheep: If they're sheep, why are they going 'oink'? Oh, no
matter. Just like capturing Tak the brown chicken. (If you don't know what
I mean, then you haven't gotten far enough to access this mini-game anyway).
Drive the red mother sheep into the pen to end this game. There are twenty
sheep all told - nineteen white and one red. You get 10 points per white
sheep you drive in first, 200 points for the red sheep, and a bonus depending
on how many sheep you get in before chasing the mother sheep in. There's a
potential of 690 points here, but I'm not sure it's worth it, in terms of
time spent vs. points gotten. (I usually wind up spending five minutes
chasing the darn sheep around, before I finally get fed up and chase the
brown one in the pen, for a grand total of 200 points).
Of course, the first time (when you're trying to capture chickens
instead of sheep), and everything is worth ten times as much, then it's
definitely worth it to get the full 6900 points out of this, since you're
not timed, and you have to complete it *anyway* to move on.
Update: Maybe they *are* pigs. Or sheep. Or... pigsheep!
4. White Water Rafting: In Mount Ryft, ride the raft and pick up the bags
for 20 points each. There's not much to earn here. The most I've gotten is
350 points (including a time bonus), and you have to run through a small
enemy-infested area just to get to the raft. Still, this is the easiest and
quickest of the games, and may be the most worthwhile in the long run.
-----E. Etymology, or, What The Heck Is A Peist?
Aura: An intangible quality, or an invisible radiation. Probably refers to
Ryuu's draconic aura solidifying into a physical form.
Astral: Relating to the stars; also relating to the 'astral plane', a plane
of pure thought where spirits are said to dwell. In the original
Japanese game, this dragon is called Spiritual.
Behemoth: The Bible refers to an animal by this name; it's only described
as large.
Infini: The first three syllables of Infinity, of course. In the Japanese
game, its name is simply Infinity.
Kaiser: Of course this is the name of the German monarchy once upon a time,
taken from the name (Julius) Caesar, but from 1951-1953, the Kaiser
Dragon was an American-made car ("Kaiser" being the make and "Dragon"
the model). Coincidence?
Knight: Camelot! Camelot!! Camelot!!! (It's only a model.) Sssh!
Mammoth: If it's bigger than a behemoth, it's got to be mammoth in size. :)
This dragon is known as the Bandersnatch in Japan, a creature from
Lewis ("Alice's Adventures In Wonderland") Carrol's poem Jabberwocky,
which appears in the sequel to Alice, "Through The Looking Glass".
Mutant: To pull a definition from my dictionary: "One that is suggestive of
a genetic mutant, as in bizarre appearance, inaptitude, or genesis
in an unhealthy environment." Flawed Gem. Unhealthy environment.
Yeah. This form is called Henner in Japan (literally transcribed from
the katakana as Hen'naa). Anyone have any ideas what that means?
Myrmidon: In Greek mythology, a member of the Thessalian people, a warlike
bunch who followed Achilles without question. The word now usually
refers to a mindless follower, though I suspect the Capcom translators
had the "warlike" idea in mind. In the Japanese game, this form is
called simply the Warrior.
Peist: I'll just quote http://www.polenth.demon.co.uk/dragon/typemyth.html
- "The peist are the dragons of Ireland. These dragons are waterdwellers. When St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland, he
imprisoned the peist in their home, the water." This dragon is called
the Jabberwock in the Japanese BoF4, also taken from Jabberwocky.
Punk: I suspect the name 'Punk' is mispelling of 'Puk' (though this
carries over from the Japanese version, where it's also called Punk).
A Puk (also spelled Puuk, Puky, and Puki) is a small quadrupedal
'household' dragon in stories from Europe. "Pukapuka" may be related
to this, too.
Serpent: Snakes. Why does it always have to be snakes?
Tyrant: A ruler without peer, without restrictions, and usually without mercy.
Fou-Lu to a T. And that T stands for Tyrant. :)
Weyr: This is an odd choice, as the word usually refers to a dragon's home
(most notably in Anne McCaffery's Pern books), not to a dragon itself.
In the original Japanese game, this dragon is known as the Jubjub,
again named for a Jabberwocky creature. The Jubjub also puts in a
more visible appearance in Carrol's book-length story poem The Hunting
of the Snark.
Wyvern: A wyvern is just what it appears as in the game: a four-limbed dragon
(two legs and two wings, rather than the standard four legs and two
wings). Despite their names, the Weyr, Serpent, Peist, Dragonne
(a boss enemy), and possibly even the Kaiser and Tyrant forms are all
technically wyverns.
-----F. 'Sharking
I'm not going to give you codes for the dragons here; there are other,
better sources for that. I'm going to note a few things about what you can
and can't do, even with Gameshark.
1. You can't Shark dragon-forms directly onto Ryuu and Fou-Lu. You can put
the name of a dragon onto their Spell or Skill lists (e.g., Astral or Aura),
where it seems to be a 0 AP spell, but it's always greyed-out in battle. You
*have* to go through the Meditate screen to access the dragon-forms. This
doesn't even depend on giving a dragon to the 'wrong' character - 'Sharking
Aura onto Ryuu is as useless as 'Sharking Astral. (More's the pity - I'd
rather place Fou-Lu's dragon forms directly onto Ryuu, rather than just
sticking the Breath attacks on him).
2. Not surprisingly, you can't give dragon-forms to anyone but Ryuu or Fou-Lu.
If you 'Shark Meditate onto someone else's spell list, the game will freeze
when you try to use it - oddly, the game freezes at the point *after* it shows
the close-up of the (wrong) character (I 'Sharked Meditate onto Ershin; it
showed the close-up of Fou-Lu) - apparently, that dragon-form isn't as
standard as I thought it was, even though it looks the same for both
characters. Ershin doesn't have a corresponding dragon form, so it crashed
when it tried to return to the normal battle screen. The same goes for the
other characters (including the close-up of Fou-Lu).
3. You *can*, however, give breath attacks to any of the characters. So while
only Fou-Lu and Ryuu can become the Hybrid, any of them can transform fully
for the Breath attacks. A 'Sharked Stardrop has no visible level, but the
level is calculated normally. Giving a breath attack to Ryuu early in the
game will result in very little damage (which may, actually, be why you don't
get Dragonbreath until so late in the game - in the early going, it'd be
useless); Nina never does much with a breath attack, either. (For my 'Sharked
fourth time through the game, I gave each character a breath attack based on
their element. Ershin got Stardrop, and Ryuu got Eraser and Dark Wave. The
rest you can probably figure out) :)
4. You can give any character the Dragon-Combo Magic (Super Nova, Catastrophe,
Earthbreaker, Mjollnir) - they're 0 AP, no description, with the symbol for
combination magic (three circles of different colors). Interestingly, Ershin
(who I gave these spells to) has a voice clip for Catastrophe, when there's no
way in a normal game she'd be able to cast Catastrophe. As an aside, you can
easily give normal combination magic to any character, as well - again, they
cost 0 AP, and have the three-circle symbol that appears in the Combo meter
during such attacks.
5. You can't 'Shark new dragons onto Ryuu early in the game. Even if you use
a Key Item code to give him all the Dragon Gems, he will still only have Aura.
If you gave away the Flawed Gem, 'sharking it back onto your item list will
not give you the Mutant/Punk form back. I suspect that they need to be
"turned on" on the Dragon List directly, and I don't yet know of a code
for that.
6. The 'Evolved' dragons' breath attacks are distinct from their basic
forms. For example, Serpent's Waterspout is 3E, but Peist's is at F6. Even
Infini's Dark Wave is different from Tyrant's. (4B for Tyrant, F4 for Infini).
For the record, it was Infini's version of Dark Wave I 'Sharked onto Ryuu
(mentioned in #3 above) :) (There's also two versions of Aura Smash, but I
can't tell what the difference is, other than one has 'Holy' in its
description, while the other one seems to cut off a word or two). This only
makes a difference with Stardrop - since the version of the Breath determines
the level, and consequently, the number of hits.
7. When 'sharking *non*-dragon moves onto your characters, don't try to give
them any moves unique to polygonal bosses; your characters simply don't have
the proper animation frames, and the game will crash. If more than one
(different-looking 2-D sprite) enemy can use the move, chances are your
characters can use them without harm (though some moves, like Giant Growth,
still freeze the game). The sole exception to this is Mjollnir, which, while
only used by the Dragonne boss, is just a combo-magic spell, and doesn't
depend on specific animation from the enemy itelf. But Mystic Fire? Frost
Breath? Power Flux? Forget it.
8. Don't try to put Fou-Lu in your party, unless you put him in alone. The
game will crash if you try to give Fou-Lu any companions in the party. And,
as I said earlier, he *does* have the Myrmidon/Knight and Mutant/Punk forms if
you put himin your party after Ryuu gets those dragons.
While I don't condone using a GS to get through a game for the first
time, it, like the Genie before it, makes playing with the game in later treks
through it more entertaining.
I also assume that all the things I mentioned above that you can't
do can, in fact, be done, but not with the codes currently available. I'm
currently looking for codes to 'Shark Fou-Lu dragons directly onto Ryuu's
dragon list, but it's turned up empty so far.
Next I think I'm going to give the dragon-combo spells to all the
characters, just to see which ones have voice clips for them. If any.
(Fou-Lu, for example, has no voice clips for *any* combo spells, dragon
or otherwise, while Ershin has a voice clip for Catastrophe, but not the
others).
----Bonus BoF4 Rant: If Capcom of America *had* to remove a decapitation scene,
why did they do it by ending the scene in the middle before the
decapitation would have taken place? Would it have been that difficult for
the character to blink and disappear, and have the scene go on as normal?
(I mind less the removal of a scene of Nina and Ursula bathing, because I
didn't even notice it was missing. The premature end of the decapitation